In a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, Himanta Biswa Sarma, known for his Anti-muslim rhetoric has utilized state government funds amounting to crores of rupees for hiring helicopters and chartered planes to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party, both within and outside the state, The Wire reported.
As per a Right to Information (RTI) response from the Assam government to inquiries by The CrossCurrent on August 26, 2022, Sarma used taxpayer money to hire chartered planes for attending weddings and party meetings, activities not classified as official government work.
The government initially claimed in September that the expenditure on chartered planes was solely for official government programs.
However, the General Administration Department initially remained unresponsive to the RTI application filed in August 2022.
Only after the State Information Commission’s intervention did the department, on September 30, 2023, provide partial information, despite the application’s request spanning from May 10, 2021.
Furthermore, a separate RTI request directed at the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) regarding chartered flight hires for the chief minister’s use remains unanswered, contrary to the RTI Act 2005’s stipulation of a 30-day response timeframe for designated first appellate authorities.